Investing brings up all sorts of thoughts for various people – It’s too hard, I don’t have enough money, I’ll lose all my money, It is unpredictable, I don’t know enough. All of these are valid points. It is a case of, “If you believe something is so, then it is for you.” You can choose to change how you think.

Once you change your mindset around money, and you have some money to invest, the next choice is – how do you choose where to put it?

First, you want to ask yourself: “What is an investment to me? Is it buying a rental property? Is it having a business? Is it playing the stock market?” All of these work, however, the primary investment starts with an investment in you. The more you invest in you, the easier and greater your investments become.

1.Invest in yourself

With all ventures, the first step is to invest in you and educate yourself about how you function. Your point of view creates your reality. Everyone has a particular point of view about money – is it easy to make or is it hard? If you think that it is hard to make money, it is! One of the ways you can start to change this is to challenge yourself to say, “that’s an interesting point of view” every time you think about money. Thoughts you think often are the sign of a point of view that is not working for. Using “That’s an interesting point of view” will work with any point of view that you have.

2.Research your interests

What you are already interested in has the most likelihood of becoming an additional income source for you. When you have established what you are interested in you can begin to upskill yourself. Whatever it is you have an interest in, there is a way to create money from it. You may be interested in jewelry, antiques, art, retro furniture, vintage clothing or whatever your particular thing is. Take time to learn about what is in vogue or valuable right now and check out sites on the internet or local shops and see what is underpriced. I can guarantee if you do some research in an area that interest you will be able to source some amazing opportunities. You can either accumulate the items first or immediately sell them for a profit.

The same principle works with the traditional investment areas of fixed interest, shares/stocks or property. You may have an affinity with one of these. Start with that one and educate yourself – talk to the experts, talk to a financial adviser, ask lots of questions until you feel you have an understanding of how that market works.